oh yeah - Ami's a lesbian - no wonder she didn't like Rory
http://www.southernvoice.com/2004/10-29/arts/television/tv.cfm
Survivor’ secrets
Is CBS keeping lesbians on ‘Survivor’ in the closet? Or are they staying there intentionally in order to win the game?
Friday, October 29, 2004
VIEWERS CAN TELL by looking at the cast biographies that there are two lesbians on the current season of “Survivor,” but it’s hard to be certain based on the portions aired so far on the show itself. CBS doesn’t release details about the sexual orientation of the show’s contestants unless it becomes part of the “story” on the show. But the bios of Ami Cusack and Scout Cloud Lee on the show’s Web site reveal that Cusack is in a three-year relationship with “Crissy,” and Lee lives with “Annie,” her “best friend and playmate” for the past 26 years.
For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to call them lesbians, even though they could be “bi” or “same-gender-loving” or women who just happen to be in relationships with other women. And for the sake of argument, “Crissy” and “Annie” could be men.
It’s not shocking that CBS is keeping the women’s sexual orientation a big secret, but it would be surprising if casual viewers — who don’t check the Web site or read the gay press — have no idea the women are lesbians. After all, straight castaways openly talk about their opposite-sex partners, and the guys spend plenty of time discussing and ogling the women.
THIS TRUTH ABOUT Cusack and Lee could be hidden for any number of reasons. Maybe neither has disclosed this information to their fellow cast members yet, either for personal or strategic reasons.
Another possible reason is more nebulous. What if they both came out, and all the other women supported and accepted them, and they all shared a big hug of unity around the campfire?
If that happened and CBS didn’t air it, there’s a producer who needs to be voted off the island. That two lesbians could come out and be welcomed on equal terms not only goes to show the spirit and morale of the group, but would also be inspirational for all those budding lesbians out there. They need role models to show them that they, one day, might be able to starve, cheat and lie around in a bathing suit on national television for $1 million.
After all, even future bitchy queens have first season winner Richard Hatch to look up to.
AND THERE IS A third theory. Cusack and Lee have only come out to each other and formed a secret lesbian cabal that is going to take over the island. The wise, earthy and forward Lee has posited herself as the sage of the group, and no one wants her gone, even though she’s not nearly as strong and does not work as hard as others.
Cusack, on the other hand, seems to hold some secret sway over the voting process. In the episode that aired on Oct. 14, men were allowed into their tribe.
Most of the women wanted to vote out Rory Freeman, but Cusack convinced them to vote against Travis “Bubba” Sampson instead. She claimed she saw him trying to communicate with members of the other tribe. Guess the rest of us missed that.
On the Oct. 21 episode, the ladies were going to vote off Freeman to maintain their all-female alliance. But Cusack took umbrage with an offhand remark that Lisa Keiffer made. By the end of the episode, everyone voted against Keiffer.
She may or may not be gay, but Cusack seems to be the behind-the-scenes leader of her tribe. She’s doing more than “flying under the radar,” she’s stealing the show without anyone noticing.
That’s the real story, and viewers are missing out.
